A methane gas explosion in a coal mine in Tabas County of Iran's South Khorasan Province on the evening of September 21 resulted in 52 deaths and 17 injuries, according to local officials.

Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni travelled to Tabas to investigate the recent coal mine explosion, according to reports from Entekhab. The blast at the Madanjo Coal Mining Company was due to a "sudden release of methane gas", the minister said. At the time of the incident, 69 workers were present in Blocks C and B of the mine, he added.

Rescue operations are currently underway, with eight specialised five-member teams actively engaged in efforts to reach the workers, with 17 men still reported trapped underground, ISNA reported at 15:30 GMT on September 22.

Director General of Crisis Management at the provincial governorate, Mohammad Ali Akhoundi, said in an interview with IRNA on September 22 that the incident occurred around 9 p.m. local time at a private company mine, "where methane gas spread through two blocks, leading to suffocation."

He said 40 specialised rescuers are engaged in the operations at the mine, which is located 250 meters underground and extends 700 meters in length.

President Masoud Pezeshkian, on a flight to New York, expressed his deep sorrow following the tragic explosion. In a message posted on the social media platform X, he conveyed his heartfelt condolences to those who lost loved ones in the accident, saying, "I share in their grief and offer my deepest sympathy."

Pezeshkian described the news of the incident as "extremely painful and heartbreaking."

The Chief Justice of South Khorasan Province, Mohammad Jafar Abdollahi, also went to the site and vowed to thoroughly investigate the dimensions of the incident and take necessary action against those responsible.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf also appointed a representative to lead the investigation, stating that identifying the culprits is on the legislature's agenda.

The Tabas coal basin, covering more than 30,000 square kilometres and holding an exploratory reserve of 75.2bn tonnes of coking and thermal coal, is considered the richest and largest coal region in Iran."

The Parvadeh area, spanning 1,200 square kilometres with a geological reserve of 1.1 billion tonnes of coking coal, is one of the four coal regions in Tabas and the largest coking coal basin in Iran.